Dahlias - Part 3: Staking and picking

Plant Directory

Achillea millefolium

Common name: Yarrow

Alchemilla mollis

Common name: Lady's mantle

Allium schoenoprasum

Common name: Chives

Amelanchier

Common name: Shadbush

Ammi

Common name: Ami, Bishop's flower or Queen Ann's lace

Anemone

Common names: Poppy anemone, Windflower

Anemone hupehensis

Common names: Japanese anemone

Anethum graveolens

Common names: Dill

Angelica

Common names: Wild celery

Anthriscus sylvestris

Common names: Cow parsley

Antirrhinum

Common names: Snapdragon

Astrantia

Common names: Masterwort

The Cutting Garden in Early Autumn

Dahlias - Part 3: Staking and Picking

We are in France on a beautiful sunny day, dealing with the challenge of staking our favourite dahlia variety, 'Otto's Thrill'. There are many types of dahlias - cactus dahlias, pompom dahlias, anemone dahlias, and water lily dahlias. 'Otto's Thrill' - which we demonstrate in this lesson - is a large dinner-plate dahlia with superb, huge, pink flower heads.

At the time of planting a tuber, we used a single bamboo cane and added two more when the plant was gaining in size. Today we are tying another tier of string to the canes at shoulder height, with just enough tension to keep the stems upright.

OUR ADVICE:

• Always stake large dahlias
• Use bamboo canes or coppiced hazel sticks
• Tie lengths of string around the canes as the plant grows ending with a tier at shoulder height
• Deadhead regularly to the nearest set of leaves to encourage new flowers to develop
• Cut back blooms to the first set of leaves at the beginning of the season; this will increase the chance of having longer stems to cut later in the season